Friday,
June 13
Friday the thirteenth was a charmed day for us! Again, we
woke up to the sound of rain and we groaned inside. When we checked the radar
we saw a lot of wet stuff moving through, but it looked like it would clear
later on. John spoke with some fellow Loopers on Thanks Dad, also on a Mainship, who had just come into the
marina two days before and they said they were leaving at 7:30. We agreed to go with them so we put
ourselves into high gear to get ready. The rain stopped and we were on our way
once again.
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| Our sister ship, Thanks Dad, with a few different features |
Following the M/V Thanks Dad with John and Sue and their three dogs aboard, we cruised the last leg of our stint on the Erie Canal, going through lock 23 at 8 a.m. when it opened and then moving on to Three Rivers where the Oswego River separates to go north. We had very pretty views with houses and camps dotting the side of the shoreline. We did run into a patch of rain for about a half an hour, scrambled to get below, but it had stopped by the next lock.
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| House with spectacular Japanese maples |
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| Oswego Canal going northwest to GREAT LAKE ONTARIO (lake looks really big!) |
When we got to lock 2 we were informed that the sheriff’s department had temporarily closed the lock because they had divers searching the water just on the other side. We idled for a while and three other boats caught up to us. John called the lockmaster and asked how long the delay would be. The lockmaster first suggested that we tie up to the wall and then generously invited all five boats into the lock and tie up there and wait.
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| Squeezing into the Fulton lock - the green bridge in front cut the lock almost in half. When the water went down we could pass through. |
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| Seanna was behind us and Bluegrass was to our port |
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| Everyone had time to take lots of pictures while we were stuck in the lock and the folks on Thanks Dad took this one of us |
Fulton lock had a bridge right across it which restricted the room to tie up. We all squeezed in and it wasn’t much longer before the sheriff called and agreed to let us through. We found out later that they had found a car with the driver still inside at the bottom of the canal. Sadly, it had been missing for 17 years and the police were preparing to bring it up.
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| I guess I have a thing for bridges reflected in the water |
Our group of five boats continued on through each lock until the last one delivered us all right to the Oswego Marina, our haven for the night. We took on some fuel ($4.58/gal - ouch!) and were tied up in our slip just as we saw the sky darken to the west and heard a clap of thunder. We were so glad we got an early start!
It rained for a couple of hours and finally cleared. We hoped to get a sunset photo over the lake, but too many buildings were in the way. These two tired travelers were ready for a good night's sleep.
Captain’s Log:Depart: Ess-Kay Marina, Brewerton, NY 7:35 a.m.
Locked through lock 23 on the Erie, 7 locks on the Oswego
Engine hours: 7.9
Clock time 7 hr 20 min
Arrive: Oswego Marina, Oswego, NY 2:10 p.m.
Winds: calm to southerly at 5 kts
Saturday, June 14
There was a cold north wind all day, so we were glad we could stay in Oswego, as planned. In the morning we took a walk and found the pedestrian bridge across the river/locks and picked up a couple of things we needed. We put up the radar mast and prepared for the next day's crossing of Lake Ontario.
As we walked around the marina we saw lots of fishing boats, some with very clever names. The Other Woman certainly is appropriate, and another winner is Blood Vessel.
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| Fishing boat named The Other Woman - good name for most boats! |
After an early supper aboard we walked to nearby Fort Ontario to see if we could catch the sunset. When we got there we realized that they doing a reenactment of the British settlement at the time of the Revolutionary War. It was very cold and windy, but it didn't seem to slow down the history buffs who were participating.
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| I had two jackets layered on and it still felt cold! |
We both had on our red coats and were asked if we wanted to volunteer. They said I would be put on kitchen duty. No thanks! Those tents don't look very comfortable either.
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| Re-enactors posing for the camera in full regalia |
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| Cold north wind coming off Lake Ontario at sunset |
The Wi-Fi and cell phone connection in Canada may be sporadic so the best way to reach us is to send a text message. Tomorrow we plan to get up and start out at first light; hope the wind dies down by then as forecast.
A couple of photos that I didn't get a chance to use:
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| Most of the locks bypass a dam or some other unnavigable change in elevation |
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| How John spent his days when the generator wasn't working |
Captain’s Stats for the trip so far, at the end of two weeks:
Love the photos and travelogue. One favorite has to be the pic of poor John, head submerged under the cockpit hatch. Reminiscent of Steve, in the same position, replacing our bilge pump as John sat nearby encouraging and assisting as needed. xo, m
ReplyDeleteYour comment made us laugh out loud! John remembers that day very well. He is thinking it was in Brockville along the St. Lawrence.
DeleteLaughing is always a good thing. John is exactly right about Brockville too. They had that nice little park along the river and Lily took a lovely picture, from behind, of the four of us sitting on a park bench. A great trip and now you're having another one. Can't wait to see what you're seeing now.
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